Iowa was my top choice of my targets and now that I have been accepted I would like to hear from someone who knows about the law school about employment prospects. I spoke with a 1L but they did not know much about this. I have thought long and hard about retaking the LSAT and waiting a year because I took about a 10pt hit on from my PTs because I was so anxious during the testing. I figured that a 160 LSAT and a 4.0 GPA would place me at a school where I would have a good chance of doing well. And I don't mean guaranteed top 10% but I figured I could at least stay in the top 30% or so. Is this true?

The 1L I spoke with said top 30% would give one a good chance of landing a job paying $85,000 or more. Does anyone have any real evidence that this is untrue?

P.S. I have already seen the JDUnderground link about how Iowa Law is so terrible. But I would like to hear some substantiative advice about the school good or bad

If you were testing reliably around 170, you should retake. If you must go to school this year, Iowa will place you alright in most Midwest cities. It gets a lot of flack around here, but it's reputation amongst lawyers in Iowa and the surrounding area is solid.

I know I should retake but I really don't want to spend more time than necessary working in food service and barely making ends meet. Also, I feel that Iowa is a good enough school for me to not need to wait another year. Especially if what the 1L said about employment is correct.

I have thought long and hard about retaking the LSAT and waiting a year because I took about a 10pt hit on from my PTs because I was so anxious during the testing.

If I was in your shoes, I would plan to attend the top school to which you are admitted and retake the LSAT in June. If your June LSAT is substantially higher, then you may want to sit out a year and reapply next cycle.

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I figured that a 160 LSAT and a 4.0 GPA would place me at a school where I would have a good chance of doing well. And I don't mean guaranteed top 10% but I figured I could at least stay in the top 30% or so. Is this true?

I read this as you thinking that you should have received a 170 and with a 4.0 GPA you will be more likely to perform better than many of your peers at a school where a 160/4.0 enabled you to attend. From almost every source I have read, LSAT/GPA are not very good indicators of individual success in law school, regardless of where you attend.

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The 1L I spoke with said top 30% would give one a good chance of landing a job paying $85,000 or more. Does anyone have any real evidence that this is untrue?

30% at a school like Iowa and you probably have a decent chance, but you still have to interview well. The opinion of a 1L may be more meaningful than that from a bunch of 0Ls, but they may not be a very good source for information regarding post graduation employment.

I am a nonresident. The june retake was my original plan but having a wife makes that option very difficult. She would have to have a job here and seek a job in Iowa City in case I do go there. I hate to wait a year but maybe I should reconsider retaking.

Iowa was my top choice of my targets and now that I have been accepted I would like to hear from someone who knows about the law school about employment prospects. I spoke with a 1L but they did not know much about this. I have thought long and hard about retaking the LSAT and waiting a year because I took about a 10pt hit on from my PTs because I was so anxious during the testing. I figured that a 160 LSAT and a 4.0 GPA would place me at a school where I would have a good chance of doing well. And I don't mean guaranteed top 10% but I figured I could at least stay in the top 30% or so. Is this true?

The 1L I spoke with said top 30% would give one a good chance of landing a job paying $85,000 or more. Does anyone have any real evidence that this is untrue?

P.S. I have already seen the JDUnderground link about how Iowa Law is so terrible. But I would like to hear some substantiative advice about the school good or bad

Thank you.

I was told by the career services office that most students in the top quarter get multiple BIGLAW interviews. Looking over their placement numbers I would say that top quarter will give you a good shot at BIGLAW. (note: some students closer to the 30% rank get BIGLAW, but it looks scattered)

Also, you don't know how you are going to do at law school. Don't attempt to estimate your skills before hand.